Note - VMware customers - If you update to software release 1.4, you must first upgrade your OS to version 3.0.1.

Caution - Be sure that you apply only Sun Fire X4100 or X4200 updates to your server. If your server is a X4100 M2 or X4200 M2 server, be sure to get the correct downloads and documentation. For details on how to tell which server you have, refer to Methods to Differentiate Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 from Sun Fire X4100 M2 and X4200 M2 Servers, 820-0373.

Caution - Do not attempt to update directly from Release 1.0 (the initial release) to the current release. You must update to Release 1.1 first to avoid possible corruption of the SP. For details, see Running the Preflash Scriptand refer to the Sun Fire X4100/X4200 Server Release Notes for Software Release 1.1, 819-5033.

Updating Your Server Firmware

This section summarizes the steps needed for updating the server firmware.

Note - The firmware and BIOS must always be of the same version, and must always be updated together.

Caution - Do not load (backflash) ILOM service processor and BIOS firmware older than release 1.2. Newer systems require more current firmware to operate properly. The format of FRU data has also been extended and is not displayed properly with older ILOM firmware.

Caution - If your current software is earlier than release 1.2, you must use the preflash script (see Running the Preflash Script) to avoid possible corruption of the SP. The flash recovery process from this corruption is complicated and might not succeed, requiring replacement of the SP hardware (see Recovering from a Failed Flash Updatefor details).

5. Use the ILOM GUI, the ILOM CLI load command, or N1 System Manager to perform the flash update.

Due to the increased memory use during Web-based GUI operations, you might need to use N1 System Manager or the ILOM CLI load command to update the ILOM firmware. For details, refer to the N1 system manager documentation or the Integrated Lights Out Manager Administration Guide for ILOM 1.1.1.

From the ILOM CLI, use the following command:

load -source tftp://tftpserver/firmware.ima

where tftpserver is the server that contains the update, firmware.ima is the image file, for example, ilom.x4100.1.1.1-r15632.ima.

Caution - To ensure a successful flash update, do notattempt to modify the ILOM configuration, or use other ILOM GUI, CLI, SNMP, or IPMI interfaces, during the flash update process. Wait until after the flash update succeeds to make further ILOM configuration changes. Note that the ILOM update procedure might reset the SP if it detects recent ILOM configuration changes, or multiple ILOM users or connections. The update runs for about 20 minutes, and requires a reset.

For full instructions on performing a flash update, refer to the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Administration Guide for ILOM 1.1.1 at:

Verifying the Firmware Version Using the CLI Through the Management Ethernet Port

1. Connect an RJ-45 Ethernet cable to the NET MGT Ethernet port on the back panel.

2. Establish an SSH connection using the following command, then enter the default password (changeme) when you are prompted:

# ssh -l root sp_ip_address

changeme

where sp_ip_address is the IP address of the server's ILOM SP.

After you have successfully logged in, the SP displays its default command prompt:

->

3. Type the version command, which returns output similar to the following:

-> version

SP firmware version: 1.0

SP firmware build number: 10644

SP firmware date: Tue Sep 13 12:50:37 PDT 2006

SP filesystem version: 0.1.13

The ILOM firmware build version is the build number listed above.

Verifying the Firmware Version Using the CLI Through the Serial Port

1. Configure your terminal device or the terminal emulation software running on a laptop or PC to the following settings:

8N1: eight data bits, no parity, one stop bit

9600 baud

Disable hardware flow control (CTS/RTS)

Disable software flow control (XON/XOFF)

2. Connect a serial cable from the RJ-45 SER MGT port on your server's back panel to your terminal device or PC.

3. Press Enter on the terminal device to establish a connection between that terminal device and the server's SP.

The SP displays a login prompt.

SUNSP0003BA84D777 login:

In this example login prompt, 0003BA84D777 is the Ethernet MAC address of the SP. This will be different for each server.

4. Log in to the ILOM SP and type the default user name (root) with the default password (changeme).

After you have successfully logged in, the SP displays its default command prompt:

->

5. Type the version command, which returns output similar to the following:

-> version

SP firmware version: 1.0

SP firmware build number: 10644

SP firmware date: Tue Sep 13 12:50:37 PDT 2006

SP filesystem version: 0.1.13

The ILOM firmware build version is the build number listed above.

Verifying the Firmware Version Using the Web GUI

1. Connect to the ILOM Web GUI by typing the IP address of the server's SP into your browser's URL field. For example:

https://129.146.53.150

2. Log in to the ILOM SP and type the default user name (root) with the default password (changeme).

The first Web page displayed is the System Information -> Versions page, which includes the build number.

Running the Preflash Script

Use the preflash script only if your current firmware is Release 1.2 or earlier.

Caution - Do not attempt to update directly from Release 1.0 (the initial release) to the current release. You must update to Release 1.1 first to avoid possible corruption of the SP. Recovering from such a corruption is complicated, and might not succeed, requiring replacement of the SP hardware (see Recovering from a Failed Flash Update). For instructions on updating from Release 1.0 to Release 1.1, refer to the Sun Fire X4100/X4200 Server Release Notes for Software Release 1.1, 819-5033.

This section contains a summary of the preflash script process, followed by detailed instructions for supported operating system platforms.

Summary Preflash Script Procedure

This ilom.X4100-preflash_1.2.sh (or later) preflash update script prepares the ILOM SPs for safe update from version r10664.rom.ima or earlier to the latest release. The preflash script is only required for updating from version r10664.rom.ima or earlier.

To use this script, copy the script to each ILOM SP using the secure copy command scp(1), then execute the script using the secure remote shell command ssh(1). Use the sunservice shell account, which has the same password as the root account on the ILOM SP.

See the sample commands below:

ssh -l sunservice sp_ip_address rm -f /coredump/*

scp preflash_script_name sunservice@sp_ip_address:/coredump

ssh -l sunservice sp_ip_address sh /coredump/preflash_script_name

Caution - The ILOM SP includes the sunserviceuser account, which shares the same password as the root account. It is provided solely to allow Sun Services personnel to perform diagnosis and recovery tasks. Customer use of the sunserviceaccount might interfere with the correct operation of the ILOM SP and is not supported unless it is used to perform procedures documented by Sun Microsystems.

When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, the ILOM SP can be safely updated using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

Detailed Preflash Script Procedures

This section describes options for transferring the preflash script to the ILOM SP and running it on different OS platforms.

Transferring and Running the Script Using SSH and SCP

This procedure can be done without logging in to the SP, by using the secure remote shell command ssh(1) and the secure copy command scp(1).

Required Tools:

ssh

scp

1. Download the preflash script and save it in a known directory.

2. Copy the script to the SP using the following commands:

ssh sunservice@sp_ip_address rm -f /coredump/*

scp preflash_script_name sunservice@sp_ip_address:/coredump

where sp_ip_address is the IP address of the server's ILOM SP and preflash_script_name is the name of the script.

3. Run the script using the following command:

ssh sunservice@sp_ip_address sh /coredump/preflash_script_name

4. When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, you can safely update the ILOM SP using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

Transferring and Running the Script using TFTP

Required Tools:

Trivial file transfer protocol (TFTP) server

1. Set up a TFTP server or use an existing one.

Refer to your OS documentation for instructions on setting up a TFTP server.

2. Download and save the preflash script to your TFTP root directory.

3. Log in as the sunservice account.

Use sunservice as the user name and the root password for the password.

ssh sunservice@sp_ip_address rm -f /coredump/*

where sp_ip_address is the IP address of the server's ILOM SP.

4. Transfer the preflash script to the SP using TFTP and the following commands:

cd /coredump

rm -f /coredump/*

tftp tftpserver_ip_address -c get preflash_script_name

where tftpserver_ip_address is the address of the server containing the script and preflash_script_name is the name of the script.

5. Run the preflash script:

sh /coredump/preflash_script_name

where preflash_script_name is the name of the script.

6. When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, the ILOM SP can be safely updated using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

Transferring and Running the Script Using NFS

Required tools:

A network file system (NFS) directory

1. Export an NFS directory if none is available.

2. Copy the preflash script to the exported NFS directory.

3. Log in to the SP as the sunservice account.

Use sunservice as the user name and the root password for the password.

4. Mount the NFS directory.

mount nfs_server:nfs_directory /mnt

5. Remove any current coredump files using the following commands:

cd /coredump

rm -f /coredump/*

6. Run the preflash script:

cd /mnt

sh preflash_script_name

where preflash_script_name is the name of the script.

7. When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, the ILOM SP can be safely updated using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

Automated Solaris and Linux Procedure For Running the Script Using Expect and Tcl/Tk Software

6. Run the apply-preflash-1.x-unix.tcl file on the command shell with the following command and options:

expect apply-preflash-1.x-unix.tcl[options]

Note - To automate running the script on multiple SPs, put all the SP IP addresses into a file that can be read by the apply-preflash-1.x-unix.tcl script. List only one SP IP address per line. Then supply the file name to the script with the -splist option. See the Script Options for all script options.

TABLE 0-1 Script Options

Option

Description

-sp ip_address

or

-splist file_name

The IP address of the server's ILOM SP

The file that lists all the SPs to update, for automated multiple-server updates

-password password

The root password if the default password is not used

-scriptname name

The preflash script name, if the default is not used

-query

Query whether the preflash script has already been run

7. When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, the ILOM SP can be safely updated using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

2. Download the preflash script and save it in the same directory in which you saved the PuTTY files.

3. Use the Start menu Run dialog and run cmd.exe to open a command shell.

4. Go to the directory where you saved the PuTTY files and the preflash script.

5. Copy the preflash script to the SP with the following PuTTY commands:

plink sunservice@sp_ip_address "rm -f /coredump/*"

pscp preflash_script_name sunservice@sp_ip_address:/coredump

where sp_ip_address is the IP address of the server's ILOM SP and preflash_script_name is the name of the script.

6. Run the preflash script on the SP with the following PuTTY command:

plink sunservice@sp_ip_address "sh /coredump/preflash_script_name"

where sp_ip_address is the IP address of the server's ILOM SP and preflash_script_name is the name of the script

7. When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, the ILOM SP can be safely updated using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

Note - This TFTP server does not require installation. The tftpd32 software will make all the files in the directory it is launched from available for TFTP. It can be started and stopped as desired.

2. Download and save the preflash script into the same directory in which you saved tftpd32.exe.

3. Start tftpd32.exe by running it from a command shell, or use File Browser to start it.

4. Make note of the IP address of the TFTP server that tftpd32 reports.

5. Log in to the SP as the sunservice account.

Use sunservice as the user name and the root password for the password.

6. Transfer and run the preflash script on the SP with following commands:

plink sunservice@sp_ip_address "rm -f /coredump/*"

cd /coredump

tftp tftpserver_ip_address -c get preflash_script_name

sh preflash_script_name

where sp_ip_address is the IP address of the server's ILOM SP, tftpserver_ip_address is the server that contains the update, and preflash_script_name is the name of the script.

7. When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, the ILOM SP can be safely updated using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

Automated Windows Procedure for Running the Script Using Expect and PuTTY Software

Note - This procedure and the sample automated script text are also included in the README file that is included with the preflash script.

6. Run the apply-preflash-1.x-windows.tcl file on the command shell with the following command and options:

expect apply-preflash-1.x-windows.tcl[options]

Note - To automate running the script on multiple SPs, put all the SP IP addresses into a file that can be read by the apply-preflash-1.x-unix.tcl script. List only one SP IP address per line. Then supply the file name to the script with the -splist option. See Script Options for all script options.

TABLE 0-2 Script Options

Option

Description

-sp ip_address

or

-splist file_name

The IP address of the server's ILOM SP

The file that lists all the SPs to update for automated, multiple-server updates

-password password

The root password if the default password is not used

-scriptname name

The preflash script name, if the default is not used

-query

Query whether the preflash script has already been run

7. When done, the script displays one of the following two messages:

*** Success ***

If this message is displayed, the ILOM SP can be safely updated using any of the firmware update methods (CLI, GUI, Sun N1 System Manager), with or without configuration preservation. Return to Step 3 of Updating Your Server Firmware.

*** Failure ***

If this message is displayed, reset the SP, and then apply the preflash script again (see Resetting the ILOM SP).

Verifying the Preflash Script

There are several methods you can use to determine whether the preflash script has been applied.

The preflash script prints the following messages at the conclusion of a successful preflash process:

*** Patch installed ***

You may now upgrade your firmware

Please ensure you upgrade to the latest version available.

*** Success ***

ssh sunservice@sp_ip_address ls /var/patchit

If the text returned does not contain the following message, the patch is applied and running.

Locating ILOM SP Addresses

There are several methods you can use to locate ILOM SPs and their IP addresses.

Sun N1 System Manager: Provides the capability to display the ILOM SP addresses of managed systems with the n1sh command.

For example, the following command can be used to create a list of Sun Fire X4100 and X4200 servers:

n1sh show server | grep 'X4[12]00'

DHCP server. Refer to the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Administration Guide for ILOM 1.1.1 for instructions on how to determine the IP address of a single server.

Linux and Solaris open-source nmap command. The open-source nmap command provides a -p port option to scan for port 623, which can be used to quickly detect IPMI-enabled devices on a network. For example:

nmap -p 623 10.6.154.1/24

Resetting the ILOM SP

You can use any of the following methods to reset the ILOM SP:

From the ILOM SP Web GUI, navigate to the Maintenance tab, then use the Reset SP action.

From the ILOM CLI, use the following command:

reset /SP

Using IPMItool, use the following command:

ipmitool -U root -P password -H sp_ipaddress bmc reset cold

You can also reset the ILOM SP by shutting down the host, and then removing and restoring AC power cords to the system.

For more on this topic, refer to the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Administration Guide for ILOM 1.1.1.

Recovering from a Failed Flash Update

Several issues have been identified with the firmware update that could result in a failed or incomplete firmware update. This section describes how to recover from a failed ILOM firmware update.

Note - If no output is displayed on the SP serial port, the Graphics Redirect and Service Processor (GRASP) board must be replaced.

Prerequisites

A trivial file-transfer protocol (TFTP) server is required to reload the ILOM firmware.

The host system must also remain powered off for the duration of the recovery process.

Recovery Steps

1. Determine if the ILOM SP first-level booter (called U-Boot) is intact. Connect to the SP serial port (for details, see the ILOM Administration Manual, apply power to the system, and observe the initial ILOM boot messages.

6. Confirm that the download succeeded. The tftp command output should end with

Bytes transferred = ByteCount

7. Use the md command and confirm that its output displays strings from the beginning of the firmware image file. For example:

=> md 100000

00100000: 244d4f44 554c4524 01004000 00000200 $MODULE$..@.....

00100010: 00000000 000000f2 67726173 70000000 ........grasp...

00100020: 01000200 40000000 61000000 0000ffff ....@...a.......

00100030: ffff0000 00000100 00000000 0000aa55 ...............U

00100040: 46575f56 45525349 4f4e3d31 2e302e31 FW_VERSION=1.0.1

00100050: 0a46575f 44415445 3d4d6172 20203320 .FW_DATE=Mar 3

00100060: 32303036 0a46575f 4255494c 4454494d 2006.FW_BUILDTIM

00100070: 453d3130 3a35363a 30370a46 575f4445 E=10:56:07.FW_DE

00100080: 53433d57 41524e49 4e47203a 20554e4f SC=WARNING : UNO

00100090: 46464943 49414c20 4255494c 44212120 FFICIAL BUILD!!

001000a0: 0affffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ................

8. Erase the existing ILOM flash image:

Caution - Interrupting the flash recovery process from this point onwards, or entering an incorrect U-Boot command, might result in a disabled service processor, which will require replacement. DO NOT stop or remove power from the system from this point onward.

a. Erase the exiting flash image using the following commands:

erase ff380000 ffffffff

erase 0xfe200000 0xff37ffff

You will a series of dots showing progress, followed by a confirmation:

b. If a failure occurs, retry the erase command repeatedly until it succeeds.

Note - If a persistent failure occurs, the service processor is not flash-updatable, and must be replaced. Refer to the Sun Fire X4100/4100 M2 and X4200/4200 M2 Servers Service Manual, 819-1157, for details on replacing the GRASP board.

9. Program the new ILOM firmware image:

a. Use the U-Boot cp.b command to copy the new ILOM firmware image from the download location at 100000 to ff380000, until end address ffffffff.

Before resetting, make sure the copy succeeded, using the fmh command, which should display firmware sections. For example:

=> fmh

Listing FMH Modules

Flash Size : 32768 KB

Erase Size : 64 KB

Sector Count : 512

FMH Located at 0xff380000 of Size 0x00020000

Name : grasp

Ver : 1.0

Type : 0x0002

Flags : 0x0000

Size : 0x00000061

Location: 0xff380040

LoadAddr: 0xffffffff

CheckSum: Not Computed

--------------------------------------------------

FMH Located at 0xff3a0000 of Size 0x00120000

Name : sysbios

Ver : 1.x1

Type : 0x0000

Flags : 0x0100

Size : 0x00100000

Location: 0xff3c0000

LoadAddr: 0xffffffff

CheckSum: Valid

--------------------------------------------------

FMH Located at 0xff4c0000 of Size 0x000c0000

Name : osimage

Ver : 1.0

Type : 0x0006

Flags : 0x0119

Size : 0x000ac9c8

Location: 0xff4c0040

LoadAddr: 0x00c00000

CheckSum: Valid

...

Note - If the command output does not show anything, you may have entered an incorrect memory address. Repeat the tftp, erase and cp.b commands until the image is properly copied. Note that you must erase the existing firmware image before attempting to copy a new image.

10. Reset the ILOM service processor.

Once you are certain that the service processor firmware image has been recovered, you can restart the service processor with the reset command.

=> reset

11. Recover the system BIOS.

Note - This manual ILOM SP recovery process does not reflash the system BIOS. Repeat the firmware update process using the ILOM GUI or CLI procedures as described in Updating Your Server Firmware, and then refer to the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) Administration Guide for ILOM 1.1.1.

Be sure to reset your service processor and BIOS configuration settings as needed, because they might be lost during this recovery.

Downgrading to a Previous ILOM Release

The ILOM flash update in this release has a very new and different structure that is designed to be more reliable. However, should you use this update and later find that you need to downgrade to a previous release, you may need perform the flash downgrade twice to reformat the flash layout to the old format. If so, a message will prompt you. This is not a failure. Just repeat the procedure as instructed and the process will succeed.

Updating LSI Firmware and BIOS

For information about the LSI FW and BIOS, see the documentation files that accompany the LSI download. For LSI firmware versions included in this release, see Component Versions by Release.